by Kendra Jacobs

OSKALOOSA, IA (Aug. 7, 2000) — Terry McCarl, promoter of the Fetch-o-Matic Front Row Challenge, often says, "Come to our party and watch a race break out." That is exactly what happened at the 2000 Front Row Challenge. Amidst the flying beach balls, footballs, and Mardi Gras beads Danny Lasoski proved that the unthinkable just might happen. But, it was Shepard who took home his fifth Gumout Racing Series victory of the 2000 racing season.

"I could run the bottom real good. I had to try and work up some momentum to get around Kasey [Kahne], and hope not to screw up in lapped traffic. That's what happened, and everything worked out great," Shepard explained to the standing room only crowd.

Already looking to next season Shepard stated, "I want to do the Front Row Challenge. I talked to my car owners and I tried to win that dash, but we came up a little short. Maybe it will happen next year."

The Fetch-o-Matic Front Row Challenge provides the unique opportunity for the pole starter of the "A" Feature to start on the tail of the field instead. If that particular driver wins the 25-lap feature event from the tail position, he or she would be rewarded with a $50,000 prize. After winning both the first heat race and the Weld Racing Dash, Don Droud, Jr. turned down the challenge. With that, Terry McCarl turned to Danny Lasoski, outside front row starter, and offered him the same choice. Lasoski forfeited his front row starting position, and reverted to the tail of the 25-car field.

The front row then consisted of Don Droud, Jr. and Washington's Kasey Kahne. Before the race began, 12th starting Dennis Moore, Jr. was black-flagged for not lining-up with the field in the allotted amount of time. Kahne then took the lead as Doug Clark dropped the green flag. Droud stayed close as Shepard closed in on the duo. On lap three, Craig Dollansky passed the 4X of Danny Smith to move into the fourth position. Two laps later, Shepard drove high around Droud to take over second.

Critter Malone, in the McCroskey Chevrolet #24, brought out the first yellow of the night on lap seven as he spun in turn two. At this point, the crowd took notice of Lasoski's current position. After starting 25th, Lasoski had moved into the tenth position in only seven laps. With all eyes on Lasoski, the race restarted. Kahne again pulled out into the lead. Smith drove around Dollansky in turn two, but Dollansky reclaimed the position in turn three. Lasoski gained two positions as he passed both Jerrod Hull and Kelly Kinser. On lap nine, Lasoski charged by Paul McMahan in the United Expressline #U2 and Lance Dewease in the Harz #88 to move into the sixth position.

Lap ten saw the second caution of the night as Lasoski hit an infield tire in turn four. The Home Team #20 spun to a stop before being towed back to the pit area.

"It was a total driver error that I hit the tire down there," Lasoski explained.

As the race resumed, it was all Kahne and Shepard fighting for the lead. As the leaders drove into turn three, Randy Anderson drove into the turn two wall, shearing off the side panel of his top wing. The white #47 launched into the air, almost turning over. The red flag was dropped as Anderson walked away unharmed. During the red, Lasoski's crew repaired the damages on his Eagle chassis and pushed him off to restart the event in 21st position.

"We never stopped [working on the car]. Other crews chipped in. We couldn't have done it without them, and we really appreciate their help," Lasoski stated at race's end.

Kahne led the field with Shepard, Dollansky, Smith, and McMahan following. On lap 13, both McMahan and Kelly Kinser raced by Smith to take fourth and fifth positions. Coming out of turn four on lap 14, Shepard dove low to steal the lead from race long leader, Kahne.

Shepard began to pull away from the pack as Dollansky closed in on Kahne. On lap 15, Lasoski had worked his way back up to a tenth place position. Kelly Kinser got by McMahan to take fourth position. Five laps later, it was Shepard out in the lead with Kahne and Dollansky battling behind him. To the amazement of the crowd, it was Lasoski who had now worked his way into fourth position.

With Shepard holding a strong lead, Lasoski made his way past the Karavan Motorsports #7 of Dollansky and the #23K of Kahne. With two laps remaining, Lasoski was directly behind race leader Shepard. Lasoski continued to close in on Shepard, with the entire crowd on their feet, Shepard crossed the checkered flag just one car length ahead of Lasoski. Kahne held onto third, with Dollansky and McMahan rounding out the top five.

Kelly Kinser received the Huggins Fast Time Award with a time of 15.771. Kinser is currently piloting the Peterbuilt sponsored #7 owned by Rick Daugherty. Ricky Logan was the Frankland Hard Luck Award Winner as he flipped during the Hank's Performance Products "B" Feature. The KSE Hard Charger for the night was Jason Meyers. This was Meyers eighth KSE Hard Charger Award. Jimmy Carter in the Rudeen Racing #14C took his first provisional of the 2000 season to create a 25-car field.

Brian Hetrick won the Muscoo Lighting Foot Race. The foot race is open to any competitor throughout the evening, with the winner receiving $1,000.

On Monday, August 14th, the Gumout Racing Series begins its Northern Midwest Tour through Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

RESULTS

Gumout Racing Series

Fetch-o-Matic Front Row Challenge

Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, Iowa

Monday, August 7, Feature Program # 20

Huggins Qualifications: 1. Kelly Kinser, Daugherty 7K, 15.771; 2. Paul McMahan, Johnson U2, 15.773; 3. Jeff Shepard, Double L Mtspts. 4J, 15.812; 4. Danny Lasoski, Massey/Stewart 20, 15.814; 5. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Mtspts. 7, 15.836; 6. Kasey Kahne, Kahne 23K, 15.868; 7. Lance Dewease, Harz Racing 88H, 16.048; 8. Mike Goodman, C&W Mtspts. 3, 16.137; 9. Don Droud, Jr., Burch 1M, 16.159; 10. Jerrod Hull, Webb Racing 51, 16.179; 11. John Vandenberg, Vandenberg V10, 16.198; 12. Dennis Moore, Jr., Moore 71, 16.295; 13. Randy Anderson, Sonner 47, 16.325; 14. Brad Furr, Furr Racing 2F, 16.327; 15. Jimmy Carter, Rudeen Racing 14C, 16.333; 16. Skip Jackson, Keen Racing 53K, 16.364; 17. Travis Rilat, Archer 1AT, 16.381; 18. Christie Passmore, GAP Roofing 1A, 16.408; 19. Ronald Laney, Laney Racing 52, 16.410; 20. Jason Statler, Statler Racing 00, 16.421; 21. James Chesson, Chesson Mtspts. 22, 16.434; 22. Kraig Kinser, Kinser Racing 11K, 16.436; 23. Shane Stewart, Holbrook Mtspts. 9H, 16.459; 24. Randy Kinser, Kinser Racing 14, 16.459; 25. Critter Malone, McCroskey Chevrolet 24, 16.467; 26. Bob Bennett, Acme Trailers 3B, 16.501; 27. Blake Feese, Feese 1, 16.518; 28. Len Thompson, Thompson 10, 16.518; 29. Aaron Berryhill, Grandstaff 66, 16.530; 30. Ricky Logan, Fastrax Mtspts. 4, 16.533; 31. Jason Meyers, Carter Racing 14M, 16.553; 32. Jeff Mitrisin, Mitrisin 5J, 16.568; 33. Peter Murphy, Williams 0, 16.574; 34. Jason Johnson, Row 41, 16.588; 35. PJ Chesson, Chesson Mtspts. 76, 16.630; 36.Danny Smith, Smith 4X, 16.709; 37. Lynton Jeffrey, Jeffrey 7O, 16.720; 38. Calvin Landis, Landis 70L, 16.796; 39. Bob Weuve, Weuve 19, 16.825; 40. Kirk Lord, Lord 7X, 16.840; 41. Kerry Madsen, Gunder 2A, 16.842; 42. Ryan Jamison, Jamison 51J, 16.884; 43. John Bankston, Bankston 8, 16.889; 44. Tim Kaeding, McMillian 10K, 16.945; 45. Randy Combs, Combs 1C, 17.014; 46. Shawn Keen, Keen Racing 53, 17.112; 47. Tim St. Arnold, Kinney Racing 7S, 17.201; 48. Brent Antill, Huxley 12, 17.267; 49. Ted Lee, Mink 13M, 17.583; 50. Josh Higday, Higday 24H, 17.608; 51. Ryan Flynn, Flynn F1, 17.686; 52. Brian Carlson, SC Mtspts. 18, 17.715; 53. Ty Bartz, Bartz 75, 17.761; 54. Ernest Jennings, Jennings 61, 18.306; 55. Brian Hetrick, Hetrick 35, 18.633; 56. Joe Wipperfurth, Wipperfurth 2JW, no time.

Non-Qualifiers Event (six laps): 1. Ryan Flynn ($300); 2. Brian Carlson ($200); 3. Ernest Jennings ($150); 4. Ted Lee ($100); 5. Ty Bartz ($100); 6. Josh Higday ($100); 7. Brian Hetrick ($100). (Top four transferred to tail of Manufacturer's Heat Races)

First Manufacturer's Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Don Droud, Jr., 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. Randy Anderson, 4. Kelly Kinser, 5. Aaron Berryhill, 6. Peter Murphy, 7. James Chesson, 8. Lynton Jeffrey, 9. Kerry Madsen, 10. Critter Malone, 11. Ryan Flynn, 12. Randy Combs, 13. Travis Rilat. (Top five qualified for "A" Feature)

Second Manufacturer's Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Kasey Kahne, 2. Jerrod Hull, 3. Brad Furr, 4. Paul McMahan, 5. Kraig Kinser, 6. Ricky Logan, 7. Christie Passmore, 8. Shawn Keen, 9. Ryan Jamison, 10. Bob Bennett, 11. Tim St. Arnold, 12. Jason Johnson, 13. Calvin Landis, 14. Brian Carlson. (Top five qualified for "A" Feature)

Third Manufacturer's Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Lance Dewease, 2. Jeff Shepard, 3. Shane Stewart, 4. Ronald Laney, 5. Jason Meyers, 6. John Vandenberg, 7. P.J. Chesson, 8. Jimmy Carter, 9. Blake Feese, 10. Bob Weuve, 11. John Bankston, 12. Ernest Jennings. (Top five qualified for "A" Feature)

Fourth Manufacturer's Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Danny Smith, 3. Skip Jackson, 4. Randy Kinser, 5. Mike Goodman, 6. Jason Statler, 7. Tim Kaeding, 8. Kirk Lord, 9. Brent Antill, 10. Ted Lee, 11. Dennis Moore, Jr., 12. Jeff Mitrisin, 13. Len Thompson. (Top five qualified for "A" Feature)

"C" Feature (ten laps): 1. Calvin Landis, 2. Tim Kaeding, 3. Kerry Madsen ($100); 4. Ryan Jamison ($100); 5. Shawn Keen ($100); 6. Lynton Jeffrey ($100); 7. Tim St. Arnold ($100); 8. Ted Lee ($100); 9. Brent Antill ($100); 10. Kirk Lord ($100); 11. John Bankston ($100); 12. Brian Carlson ($100); 13. Ernest Jennings ($100); 14. Bob Weuve ($100); 15. Ryan Flynn ($100); DNS-Josh Higday, Randy Combs. (Top two qualified for Hank's Performance Products "B" Feature)

Weld Racing Dash (five laps): 1. Don Droud, Jr., 2. Jeff Shepard, 3. Craig Dollansky, 4. Lance Dewease, 5. Kelly Kinser, 6. Ronald Laney. (Finish determined inside starting rows 1-6 in "A" Feature)

Weld Race Components Dash (five laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Danny Smith, 4. Jerrod Hull, 5. Paul McMahan, 6. Mike Goodman. (Finish determined outside starting rows 1-6 in "A" Feature)

Hank's Performance Products "B" Feature (12 laps): 1. Tim Kaeding, 2. Dennis Moore, Jr., 3. Calvin Landis, 4. Critter Malone, 5. Jason Statler ($200); 6. Jimmy Carter ($150); 7. P.J. Chesson ($120); 8. Bob Bennett ($100); 9. John Vandenberg ($100); 10. Travis Rilat ($100); 11. Peter Murphy ($100); 12. Blake Feese ($100); 13. James Chesson ($100); 14. Ricky Logan ($100); 15. Christie Passmore ($100); DNS-Jason Johnson. (Top four qualified for "A" Feature)

Gumout Racing Series "A" Feature (25 laps): 1. Jeff Shepard ($5,000); 2. Danny Lasoski ($3,000); 3. Kasey Kahne ($2,000); 4. Craig Dollansky ($1,800); 5. Paul McMahan ($1,600); 6. Danny Smith ($1,400); 7. Kelly Kinser ($1,300); 8. Brad Furr ($1,200); 9. Lance Dewease ($1,100); 10. Tim Kaeding ($1,050); 11. Jerrod Hull ($1,000); 12. Shane Stewart ($800); 13. Jason Meyers ($700); 14. Ronald Laney ($600); 15. Dennis Moore, Jr., ($620); 16. Aaron Berryhill ($500); 17. Skip Jackson ($500); 18. Jimmy Carter ($500); 19. Calvin Landis ($540); 20. Kraig Kinser ($500); 21. Randy Kinser ($500); 22. Randy Anderson ($500); 23. Mike Goodman ($500); 24. Critter Malone ($520); 25. Don Droud, Jr. ($500). Provisional-Jimmy Carter.

Lap Leaders: Kasey Kahne 1-13; Jeff Shepard 14-25.

Huggins Fast Qualifier: Kelly Kinser

KSE Hard Charger: Jason Meyers

Frankland Hard Luck Award: Ricky Logan

Gumout Racing Series Point Standings: 1. Jeff Shepard, 3096; 2. Craig Dollansky, 3092; 3. Paul McMahan, 3020; 4. Jason Meyers, 2836; 5. Brad Furr, 2769; 6. Shane Stewart, 2687; 7. Ronald Laney, 2644; 8. Randy Kinser, 2633; 9. Bob Bennett, 2116; 10. Brian Carlson, 2048; 11. Kraig Kinser, 1411; 12. Jimmy Carter, 1288.